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03/08/2010 11:00 PMLongtime Madison resident and certified nurse-midwife Susan Miller recently decided to follow what she describes as "a calling" and is now heading a team for the disaster relief organization, Bumi Sehat in Jacmel, Haiti.
Bumi Sehat has sent two small teams of medics, including midwives, into Haiti for relief efforts. Miller, leader of the second team, arrived on Feb. 28 in Jacmel, which is about 50 miles below Port-Au-Prince on the opposite coast.
Since her arrival, Miller has been keeping a log of her day-to-day work which has included the building of "the dome"—an indoor women's clinic and birthing center.
Follow Miller on her journey as she offers new journal entries. You can find the series, "Letters from Haiti" on Zip06.com in the news section from now until the end of March when Miller returns. Students at the Jeffrey School will also be following Miller's entries as part of their classroom learning and, when Miller returns, she'll be speaking with the students as an extension of their participation with Haiti relief efforts through the Madison Rotary.
In these daily logs, reader will learn that Miller is working to help mothers and children get the care they need.
Readers might be surprised to find out that cold showers are a luxury and that, despite the recent devastation, some things are back to normal, like children playing soccer near the tranquil oceanside.
Miller was brought to Jacmel after she retired from work as a midwife last year and felt compelled to volunteer her time.
She's been providing health care to women since 1971 and began her career as a labor-delivery nurse. She attended Yale School of Nursing to become a certified nurse midwife and has been in a private practice as a midwife for more than 15 years.
She joined Obstetrics and Gynecology of North Haven in November 2006 before retiring. She is also proud to say she has delivered all seven of her grandchildren.
To read Miller's first blog entry from Feb. 28, click here or on the related link to the right.
To follow her journey, come back to the Special Features section and find updated blogs with photos.